New City Upon a Hill:: A History of Columbia, Maryland

by Joseph Rocco Mitchell, David L. Stebenne

Published in anticipation of Columbia's fortieth anniversary in 2007, this book showcases the history of one of the nation's leading "new towns." Built from the brilliant plan developed by visionary designer James Rouse, Columbia's innovative design is the foundation for a unique community that has thrived for decades and flourishes today.

Genres: History

Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Stephie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously, this is a history of Columbia, Maryland. It spans from the planning, buying the land, getting builders, and Columbia’s beginning to its fortieth anniversary. This history is bookended by James Rouse’s early life and Columbia’s future prospects.

This is more of a reflective review, seeing how I lived my high school years and off and on through to the age of twenty-three after that. I was mostly drunk or high through this period in my life. Since detoxing from alcohol and subsequent treatment out of Columbia, my sobriety has been intact for all but a months total worth of drinking in sporadic episodes over the next four or five years after my initial treatment and a month of abusing clonopin years later, which was prescribed for anxiety, after years of regular use. Anyway, I still have many fond memories of my life in Columbia with many friends.

I was a successful product of Columbia’s Wilde Lake High School with a slant. The slant was I graduated almost a year and a half late due to a whole lot of truancy. I manage to graduate because the high school had a grading system based on segments, where each one had to be passed with a C. By the end of the year if you did not have enough completed segments you picked up the next year where you left off from the year before. This was made possible because most classes were self-paced or semi-self-paced. My parents only became aware of my truancy because of a neighbor’s remark that she saw me coming home when everyone else was going to school. This was actually fortunate because it led to a pow-pow with the school counselor and release time and a part-time job with one of my teachers, cutting grass. One other tidbit from my high school years is that I was expelled from vo-tech because of being caught smoking marijuana.

Although tucked in between regular developments and apartment complexes, the low-cost housing was pretty much mini-ghetto like, which I tended to avoid. But, many of the newer villages where free from these small townhouse developments and a few mid-rises of this type of housing. The open-space was a very nice touch and convenient for outdoor partying until the second riot. The first one I witness from afar, but the second one, which put an end to outdoor drinking in Columbia, I was in the mist of it, seeing bottles and rocks flying overhead, standing by my motorcycle, which prompted me to put on my helmet. Soon after this a police officer in no uncertain terms told me to leave, which I did promptly.

My motorcycling days came to an end when I ran into a light post by Merriweather Post Pavilion because my attention was elsewhere. It landed me in shock-trauma and a lengthy recovery, which I accomplished mainly by walking and walking even with a rod in my femur and the use of a cane for eleven months.

I found the book painted over some issues, that I experienced, with barely a mention. But, it was interesting to see how Columbia developed before and after my time there.

If your interested in the history of one of, for the most part, successful planned cities in America, you should find that the book is a good choice.

[shreeya]

whereas places in their present usually feel disconnected from history and time in my mind, this book contextualized what i know and love about Columbia with the history of the region and this country. which is to say, it was very cool to read! it read at times more like a report on Jim Rouse and the Rouse Company which was not terribly interesting. but i really enjoyed learning about Rouse and the "Rouseian" ideals that shaped the city. especially intriguing was Columbia's early relationship with race, religion, and class which no doubt continues to shape it to this day, and i think the city, with the issues that affect it and the rest of the country, can gain a lot by revisiting these early visions.

i would have loved a deeper dive into these ideals and their influence on planning of the city, but understand that that wasn't the goal of the book. would love to read something that goes into Columbia's details and the conversations that shaped them. for example, i know that the streets of the neighborhoods are derived from literary works, but what shaped this decision? there are so many features, both physical and not, of the place i grew up that i have simultaneously taken for granted and been deeply influenced by (culture of reading, music education, open space, just to name a few), that i now realize are not commonplace across the country.

[Ian Gutierrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer on Columbia’s history that would be of interest to the town’s residents. It’s a bit old now that it was written almost 15 years ago. It focuses a little too heavily on venerating Jim Rouse; while he plays a central role in the city’s vision and creation, the book dives into his background and into his other projects to such a degree that the story becomes more focused on him than on Columbia itself. Still, an informative read about the city and the man behind it.